The present invention relates to angle stations in or for endless conveyor belts and to guide roller mounting elements, and guide rollers, for use therein.
The main function and purpose of an angle station is to enable an endless conveyor to change its direction of travel laterally e.g. so as to negotiate a bend along its route. The basic principle behind most angle stations is to allow an endless conveyor belt to move over a helical path of low frictional resistance, invariably provided by some form of guide roller arrangement.
One such angle station is described in our International Patent Application, Publication No. WO93/06028. In this angle station, conveyor belt guide means in the form of a plurality of guide rollers define a generally continuously curved support for the belt. Each roller is generally barrel-shaped and is individually mounted in a generally U-shaped support bracket with a generally concave, part-cylindrical surface, base formed and arranged for complementary engagement with a cylindrical support surface of a support structure.
A disadvantage of the angle station of WO93/06028 is that dirt and debris can accrete around the support brackets, between the rollers and the support structure, which can impede rotation of the rollers, resulting in reduced performance and increased energy consumption of the angle station. Angle stations are often used in hostile industrial environments such as mines, quarries and ore plants, where they are exposed to significant amounts of dirt and other particulate foreign matter and where there is accordingly a risk of clogging occurring.